A terrifying work of constant edge-of-your-seat discomfort and unease, Bring Her Back is an instant horror classic that uses familiarity to its advantage. If anything negative can be said against filmmakers Danny and Michael Philippou’s follow up to their breakout success Talk to Me, it’s that there has been a backlash among cinephiles towards the kind of trauma based horrors offered up in Bring Her Back. I would argue that all horror – even the ones built around monsters and stalking slashers – is deeply rooted in traumas, real and imagined, past and present. Even in the face of growing audience burnout, Bring Her Back proves that expert craftsmanship, performance, and material are the makings of a truly exceptional film that stands head and shoulders above most of the titles one might lump this in with.
Seventeen year old Andy (Billy Barratt) and vision impaired younger sister Piper (Sora Wong) have been placed into the foster care system after the sudden and unexpected death of their father. They don’t want to be split up, and Andy is keen on filing the paperwork to become Piper’s legal guardian once he turns eighteen and proves he can be a stable presence in his sister’s life. Piper is quickly placed with Laura (Sally Hawkins), a seemingly kindly woman who lost a child of her own. Laura initially doesn’t want to take Andy in – having previously had issues with “difficult” children in the past – but her desire to make Piper part of her family is so strong that she agrees to not split up the pair. In typical horror movie fashion, it doesn’t take long for Andy to figure out that something is severely off about Laura and her other foster child, the creepy, feral looking Oliver (Jonah Wren Phillips). Laura has big plans for Piper (probably involving the oddly shaped swimming pool and that creepy shed out past the chicken coops), and she’s hellbent on making sure Andy doesn’t gain custody of his sister.
The Philippous, Australian YouTubers turned accomplished genre filmmakers, rely heavily on well honed bits and bobs from the “mother knows best” horror playbook: gaslighting, diversions, killing people almost literally with kindness and a smile, all to accomplish a devious, foul minded goal that’s likely built from good intentions, and, yes, a lot of unresolved trauma. The overall formula to Bring Her Back is one that will be familiar to most horror and family melodrama fans, but the atmosphere of pure dread that the Philippous lean into almost immediately never lets up. The drama of the fractured families in play and the unnerving nature of the horror work perfectly in tandem, giving core quartet of characters a lot of well honed material to pull from in their performances.
Hawkins adds another outstanding turn to her already stellar career, expertly playing on audience perceptions of her as a kind, goodly person on screen to deliver work that will leave them chilled and shaken. The depths Laura sinks to in her single minded mission to indoctrinate Piper into the family and ruin Andy’s life are bottomless, even when those plans grow increasingly desperate and destined to backfire. Laura has fully given into her darkest impulses by the time audiences meet her, but along the way Hawkins and the filmmakers always show that the character sometimes has moments of clarity and conscience. Those all too brief flashes of humanity make for an all time movie villain that’s at turns heinous and tragic. There are glimpses of who Laura used to be throughout Bring Her Back, and Hawkins allows for some moments of grace to shine through the terror that add a layer of sadness to the fear. If there was any doubt in the mind that Hawkins is one of this generation’s greatest performers, it will be shattered by Bring Her Back.
Hawkins gets pitch perfect support from her younger co-stars, as well. Barratt makes for a compelling hero worth rooting for, and his chemistry with newcomer Wong makes for an interesting dynamic. For her part, Wong delivers a star making performance as the girl caught in the middle of two extremes, literally unable to see the danger in front of her. But the biggest scene stealer here might be Phillips, who delivers a turn that’s a first ballot candidate for the creepy kid hall of fame. Phillips work is so nuanced, physical, and outright disturbing that it’s nothing short of brave for an actor of his age. The Philippous ask a lot of their stars, but perhaps expect the most from Phillips, and the young man more than rises to the occasion, especially in scenes where he acts opposite Hawkins’ deranged surrogate mama.
Bring Her Back is pitched at a consistent level of malicious terror from start to finish, even during some of the film’s more “lighthearted” moments of dark levity and catharsis. As with Talk to Me, the director siblings (who should know a thing or two about familial bonds) construct an impeccable visual and sonic landscape that’s brutally realistic in outward appearance but otherworldly in evil. The immersive sound mix places the viewer in a place where it feels like there’s no escape from the sometimes pouring rain outside or nowhere to hide from any number of unsettling noises or images (usually caused by Oliver, that little scamp). The directors re-team with cinematographer Aaron McLisky and composer Cornel Wilczek with expectedly great results once again, helping to create a horror film with no shortage of memorable sequences, effective jump scares, and sudden swerves to go along with all of the well written substance.
Horror thrives on trauma, and Bring Her Back is no exception. Heck, the title should be a clue not only as to what’s really going on with Laura and Oliver, but also that this isn’t going to be a happy-go-lucky movie. (That’s a different film with Hawkins with darkness of its own.) Bring Her Back is about grief, loss, and wanting to take back one’s mistakes (both for the heroes and villains). It’s about abuse, neglect, and how sometimes parents are unable to protect their children from harm. It’s not a braindead chiller that’s going through the motions to simply goose the audience from their seats.
Deep down, people are drawn to horror because their fear compels them to; a chance to look into the abyss of humanity and make it through to the end a changed viewer. They are hoping to become stronger by following protagonists through an uncomfortable landscape of physical or emotional violence and be inspired in the end. Or maybe they just want to see someone having a worse day than they are. The world has become such a scary place that average moviegoers have become more adept at recognizing such tropes. The trauma in Bring Her Back is big and unapologetic, but also entertaining and spine rattling in the ways one expects from a well made genre film. It’s nothing short of a modern classic and a work of dark art.
Bring Her Back opens in theatres everywhere on Friday, May 30, 2025.
